Ciao Giro! It really hasn't been that long since we last saw you. This year, back in May.
A reminder to longtime readers and and FYI to new ones: each day's post will include a little bit about the region(s) they are cycling through, an unedited "live blog" of the day's racing, a wine from the region, and, finally, a food from the region. I do my research in many places, but the regional specialties come from the official Giro site. Without further ado, stage 1!
Where are we? Torino, also known as Turin. This year we start in the north, in the capital city of Piedmont. The local visitor's bureau tells me that: Torino is an aristocratic “old lady” more than two thousand years old, whose vestiges are still visible in “her” main monuments, streets, squares and underground... an “old lady” reborn out of “her” own ashes, more dynamic, innovative and modern than ever but always proud of “her” great past.
The first capital of Italia invites you to discover its ancient and modern history, the Royal Residences, the palaces and museums, the parks and tree-lined avenues, the river and the mountains, the historic restaurants and cafes, the long arcaded streets and the multiethnic neighborhoods, the great events and the many small pleasures that have always made it unique, in a harmonious balance among the rational Roman urban planning, the moderate splendor of the Piemonte baroque and the originality of modern and contemporary architecture.
The first capital of Italia invites you to discover its ancient and modern history, the Royal Residences, the palaces and museums, the parks and tree-lined avenues, the river and the mountains, the historic restaurants and cafes, the long arcaded streets and the multiethnic neighborhoods, the great events and the many small pleasures that have always made it unique, in a harmonious balance among the rational Roman urban planning, the moderate splendor of the Piemonte baroque and the originality of modern and contemporary architecture.
The Giro specialties: Turin’s cuisine boasts a long and refined tradition, making Turin one of the world capitals of taste. Great use is made of vegetables, meats, cheeses, irreplaceable ingredients for refined and tasty recipes. Appetizers are the lion’s share: from vitello tonnato (veal in tuna sauce) to anchovies in green sauce, from meat and fish in carpione to more delicate dishes such as vegetable flans and tomini, small fresh cheeses. As first courses, stands out bagna caôda, ancient peasant recipe based on a sauce with oil, anchovies and garlic where raw and boiled vegetables are dipped, agnolotti, gnocchi and risottos and as second courses, mixed boiled meat, braised meat and mixed fried food, just to mention some of them. The table never lacks breadsticks in the variants “stirato”, crumbly and with a delicate taste, and “rubatà”, full-bodied and lightly leavened, stick-shaped, an all-Turin invention, and cheeses, the list of which is endless and delicious: from robiole, to tome, from tomini to straw cheeses with a firm or doughy consistency. And to end on a sweet note, Turin’s confectionery industry boasts the invention of zabaglione, egg yolks beaten with sugar and Marsala wine, and bignole, delicate and irresistible little bundles covered in icing, and chocolate with the iconic giandujotto, obtained by mixing chocolate with toasted hazelnut flour, cremini, alpini with liqueur, pralines and other delights.
The stage: An 8.6 kilometer time trial.
This will not be the most exciting stage profile of the race. It will also not be the most exciting stage write up, which as always, I'm writing live. If you have forgotten or perhaps are new here, a time trial stage features riders sent out individually, departing at specified times designed to keep them from clumping together on the road. Sometimes if you have a particularly fast rider, they will pass the rider in front of them on the road, but there are rules around drafting and passing. Because, of course there are.
The early results have Jonathan Castroviejo in the hot seat at 9:14, which gives a sense of the times on the day. One thing to note with this opening time trial: the teams can choose the order in which they send our riders, so unless there is a dramatic change in weather expected, they tend to use their early riders almost as scouts on the course to advise the later riders on the best way to ride the course.
Meanwhile on the road, our new hot seat occupant is Matthias Brändle at 9:09.
In at 9:00, Tobias Foss. That was a very good ride from him.
Next into the hot seat, Affini at 8:57.
To the surprise of no one, into the hot seat, where we would expect him to stay: Filippo Ganna at 8:47.
The wine: Bèrto's Vermouth di Torino Bianco “Aperitiv dla Tradission” Imported by Kermit Lynch.
It had Torino in the name, how could I resist?
The importer tells me that: Founded in 1890, the distillery of Castelnuovo Don Bosco was purchased in 1906 by Carlo Quaglia, the great-grandfather of the current distillery director. A succession of fathers passing the historical and traditional knowledge of distillation, liqueur, and vermouth production to their sons, and each son adding their own vision brings us to present day. The current ambition of the distillery is to preserve the multitude of traditional liqueurs and vermouths of Piedmont.
The food: Breadsticks, because the Giro tells me they are a speciality and doesn't everyone love a breadstick?
It is simple enough to follow and you can add herbs and spices to your own preference. Were they as pretty as the ones I sometimes get out? No. But they were fun and also, tasty.
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